The Hostage Releases Are Obscene - Bernard-Henri Levy (Los Angeles Jewish Journal)
    One watches captives on their way to freedom. But what one sees - comparable or not - are survivors of the Nazi death camps.
    The same bodies, reduced to bags of bones. The same hollow eye sockets, with that vacant stare. The same despair, gaunt and dazed.
    Only one feeling takes hold over these days - rage - at this 3-for-183 exchange. This arithmetic is obscene.
    We must revolt against this endless torment.
    Israel's allies, in Europe and in the U.S., have only one thing to negotiate with Hamas and its sponsors: the unconditional surrender of those responsible for these sadistic charades and the immediate release of all hostages.
    The writer is a philosopher and author of more than 40 books. 

The Devastating Health Impact of Gaza Captivity - Maytal Yasur Beit-Or (Israel Hayom)
    Returned hostages are showing severe health impacts including dramatic weight loss of up to 25 kg. (55 pounds), significant muscle deterioration, and complex medical challenges that will require long-term rehabilitation, medical experts told the Knesset Health Committee on Monday.
    Dr. Michal Mizrachi, director of medical treatment for returned hostages at Ichilov Hospital, said, "the patients still face significant nutritional deficiencies requiring rehabilitation and ongoing care."
    "We've documented substantial functional impairment, including dramatic decreases in physical capabilities resulting from prolonged inactivity."
    The Ministry of Health has established a specialized clinic for returned hostages in Kiryat Gat.
    Hanna Katzir, 78, who endured seven weeks of Hamas captivity in Gaza before being released, died in December 2024 at age 78.
    Her daughter said, "My mother entered captivity taking one blood pressure medication. After 49 days without it, she returned with severe cardiac issues, arrhythmias, and respiratory failure."
    "The contaminated conditions in Gaza - polluted water, air, and deadly fungi - contributed to her decline."
    "She lost basic functions - walking, standing, using the bathroom, breathing independently. She was sedated and ventilated for months before succumbing to these complications."

Released Gaza Hostages Face Long, Wrenching Recoveries - Carrie Keller-Lynn (Wall Street Journal)
    Interviews with three Israeli hostages who were released more than a year ago, as well as with family members of others and psychologists who are treating former captives, indicate that many released hostages struggle with physical and psychological aftereffects.
    "I don't sleep much at night anymore," said Luis Har, 71, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
    "Many times, a noise - a motorcycle or an ambulance - takes you right back. You have to tell your body that you are here, you aren't there."
    Mia Schem, 22, said, "People think you are out, you are safe, and that it's over, but it's not. Every day is a battle to get up and fight."
    She said she vividly recalls piles of dead bodies at the Nova music festival.
    Schem was shot in the arm. Her elbow was destroyed. Four surgeries later, her right arm is a few inches shorter than her left.
    Moran Stela Yanai, 41, said she can't tolerate being indoors or in a closed room for more than a few minutes.
    Yanai lost much of her hearing in captivity and now wears hearing aids.
    Both of her legs were broken during her kidnapping, and she has had multiple surgeries on them since her release.

The Emerging Threat to Central Israel from the Palestinian City of Tulkarem - Eran Lahav and Capt. (res.) Itay Katz (Ynet News)
    Since the onset of the Gaza war, the West Bank city of Tulkarem has transformed into a hub of violence, posing a direct threat to central Israel.
    Videos circulating on social media frequently show masked gunmen firing toward Israeli communities in the Hefer Valley near Netanya.
    Residents of the community of Bat Hefer frequently report gunfire and suspected tunneling activities.
    Israel must implement a strategy that weakens terror groups' operational capacity and restores a sense of security to the region.
    Tulkarem's rapid transformation into a terror epicenter is no longer a peripheral concern but a growing danger that must be addressed decisively.

Yemen Coast Guard Interdicts Iranian Weapons for Houthis (X-U.S. Central Command)
    On Feb. 12, the Coast Guard of the legitimate government of Yemen interdicted a vessel in the southern Red Sea that was destined for Hodeidah port and originated in Iran.
    The vessel had a 40-foot container containing military equipment, including cruise missiles' structures, engines used in cruise missiles and suicide drones, reconnaissance drones, marine radars, a modern jamming system, and an advanced wireless communications system.

After 500 Days: 13 Gaza Border Communities Still Uninhabitable - Roni Green Shaulov (Ynet News)
    83% of Gaza border evacuees (53,000 of 64,000) have returned home, but 13 out of 45 communities remain uninhabitable due to security or reconstruction concerns.
    "Most communities are in advanced rebuilding stages, with essential work set to be completed in 2025," said the Tekuma Authority, in charge of rebuilding towns ravaged by Hamas on Oct. 7.
    Construction of four communities - Holit, Kfar Aza, Be'eri and Nir Oz - is expected to finish in 2026.

BBC Put on a Hamas Propaganda Pantomime (David Collier)
    The BBC just aired a new documentary on Gaza titled "How to Survive a Warzone." It was raw Hamas propaganda funded by the British public.
    One of the two co-producers is Yousef D. Hammash, a Palestinian who was living in Gaza until June 2024. Hammash is a long-standing professional Gazan propagandist with a camera, who recently completed propaganda documentaries for Channel 4. His feed on X includes almost every possible false accusation against Israel.
    One of the cameramen in Gaza who did the legwork was Amjad Al Fayoumi, who posted a salute to Oct. 7 and shared "resistance" videos full of terrorists, rockets, and Israeli funerals.
    The young narrator's father is Dr. Ayman Al-Yazouri, Hamas's Deputy Minister of Agriculture in Gaza. Thus, the child of Hamas royalty was given an hour on a BBC channel to demonize Israel.
    Our media has allowed Palestinian propagandists to turn our legacy channels into outlets blindly spouting Hamas lies.